Reply to T K Arun in Cursor titled “ Politics by Other Means’
Dear Arun,
Sir you have written the above Blog in the Economic Times on 9th March 2016, which closely followed a piece you wrote on your current poster boy Kanhaiya. You eulogized him first, made him the next messiah of India and now as a follow-up you have tried desperately to do a hit job on BJP, the Govt, Modi, the RSS. Excellent try Sir, but you have exposed your morbid mentality as an illiberal who hates any other ideology. In trying to deride BJP and the Govt you have unwittingly disparaged ordinary Hindus by confusing between Hinduism and Hindutva. In order to defend your ersatz secularism you have resorted to lies, half-truths and turgid rhetoric. In fact your tendentious views border on being sanctimonious.
Sir, may I humbly ask you what proof you have when you say
“Finish off the deshdrohi (traitor)! This is the BJP’s new war cry. And the Opposition is reportedly being put on the defensive in the small towns of Uttar Pradesh. This is dangerous, primarily because the logical conclusion of jingoism is war.”
Show one Govt or Police Report that says BJP has given out a war cry? Has the BJP released any new manifesto for UP or any other State? You seem to be pontificating from high office without proof. Have you checked with BJP in UP or the Party Head Amit Shah and tried to find the Party position? This is important as you are making a serious allegation against a party and Govt in power. This is the kind of subterfuge used by the Intelligentsia, just to malign BJP.
Have you spoken to the youth in the street, not the JNU type, but young people who have to struggle for their education and employment? I seriously doubt. You allude to jingoistic frenzy and say; “logical conclusion of jingoism is war.”This reveals the bankruptcy of illiberal mind and the desperation to label all other ideologies as chauvinistic and war like. Please go thru the history of 30 years of Left rule in WB or in Kerala, any opposition to an ideology was met with death or incarceration. May I remind you of Singur – WB!! Even a few days back scores of political rivals have been murdered in Kerala by the Left. During the 10 years of UPA rule sedition was applied on flimsy grounds on Aseem Trivedi and Binayak Sen or the insertion of Article 66A into IT Act 2008. Students school books were tampered and Cultural and Academic Institutions were filled with Marxist illiberal. I suppose these are pious acts of Nationalism!
You then mention the JNU crackdown and refer to “handful of people”. Pray Sir explain what do you mean by “people”, JNU is supposed to be an Educational Institute, where students come to study. What are 28year olds doing, strutting and sloganeering-“Destruction of India” “Breaking of India into Pieces”? This discourse has been set by the JNU brigade handful of students, teachers and outsiders owing allegiance to the Ultra Marxists and Jihadists. What is the proof you have Sir, that the tapes are doctored, pictures morphed, and poisonous propaganda going around? The Honorable High Court judge has something different to say on Kanhaiya and his brigade and I quote –
“He has also to be reminded that under Part-IV under Article 51A of Constitution of India fundamental duties of every citizen have been specified along with the fact that rights and duties are two sides of the same coin”.
“The thoughts reflected in the slogans raised by some of the students of JNU who organized and participated in that programme cannot be claimed to be protected as fundamental right to freedom of speech and expression”.
The Judge has severely admonished Kanhaiya and JNU. Please do not call this propaganda by Hindus/Hindutva, you are being petulant and you are insulting every Indian.
You later refer to Rahul Gandhi supporting 8000 strong students of JNU, sorry Sir, you are being magnanimous in your numbers and this is an outright Lie. He went to JNU to support only a handful of SFI students who are aligned with the Marxist ideology. There are innumerable students and teachers (nothing to do with ABVP) who voiced their angst on the happenings in JNU. Their voices have been silenced by the SFI brigade by use of force and slander. As example read news on how your revolutionist Kanhaiya was reprimanded for stalking a lady student, only because she asked him to behave in public inside the Campus. In any other Institute he would have been rusticated for this! But then JNU is an esteemed University and Rahul Gandhi was there to teach patriotism. The anti India propaganda is being spread in JNU thru systemic Marxist propaganda, thru posters, at meetings, even during admissions and courses. The narrative in JNU- “You are a Marxist or else you are a stupid Sanghi and RSS goon, not fit to study in JNU”.
You say Achhe Din “Unlikely” to happen and hence the BJP will use rabble rousing politics. You have not given any proof that this Govt has “stirred up emotions of the citizens to the detriment of the people and the nation”. What lofty words you use sir and I quote again –
“The binary division of the land into deshbhakts and deshdrohis finds complete congruence with the BJP’s fundamental mission. Those who do not accept Hindutva are branded as anti-national”
Show proof of this Sir, otherwise this is a big LIE. I say this because this BJP Govt has not made any statement or acted in any way other than – “Sab Ka Sath Sab ka Vikas”. Show one enactment, plan or policy that is “binary division” or undermines the Rule of Law or the Constitution. Show one act of RSS that furthers religious intolerance or bigotry. There has been no curtailment of religious rights of any creed, religion or caste. You have mixed up religion, economics, development, nationalism, Ram / Ravan, Kumar Ghandharva , Kabir/ Sadhvi . In the end your dislike towards this Govt and PM has given you wings of fantasy and you are flying high with it. You predicted “Disaster” when this Govt got elected and unfortunately for you this has not happened, so now you create an atmosphere of fear and disharmony thru your pen.
On the contrary, I can point out innumerable acts and policies of opposition led State Govts that have disturbed and anguished the Ordinary citizens. Acts used by Opposition to defame and put the Govt on the defensive. TMC Govt in WB that has given out doles to Mullahs or the stoppage of Durga pooja to appease one community, the Malda riots, the activities of evangelists in conversion thru money and force in the southern states & NE and the associated social turmoil, the forcible conversion and torture of 30 children in Noida Or the hero worship of Tipu Sultan and the riots in Harayana recently, sponsored by Congress stooges, the acts of the UP Govt of appeasement and Goonda Raj or the Jungle Raj now running in Bihar. Communal and anti-National acts. Hindus in this secular country are treated as “toxic,alien contamination” or Kafirs in Kashmir, Assam, WB and NE and forced to convert or driven out (K Pandits). Dhimmis in their own country.
The deliberate omission of our past achievements from the History books by Left historians – Sulaba Sutras, Aryabhata, Brahmagupta, Bhaskara or about Shushruta Samhita or the bogus Aryan Invasion Theory (AIT). Our children have been brainwashed to ignore and despise our glorious history and scientific achievements. One can go on and on.
If the BJP Govt is making an effort to correct our history and infuse pride in our children you and the illiberal Left historians like Irfan Habib and Romila Thapar are aghast and feel threatened. Therefore all this rage and attack on the Govt and BJP.
Again show proof of the Govt or BJP labeling beef eaters or worshippers of Mahishasura as Deshdrohi , you lying again and again . But you are OK with the group of people in JNU who defile and besmirch Goddess Durga venerated by millions of ordinary Indians. “Alternate Reading”, you say,clever but dangerous attempt to whip up communal tension by baiting the majority community. Try this with any other God, there will be bloodbath on the streets of India. Marxists can shout what they want about Hindu Gods but the same freedom of speech is not available to the majority community as can be seen from the arrest of Kamalesh Tiwari in UP.
10 years of UPA Govt headed by an ,Ultra Constitutional Authority Sonia Gandhi, witnessed-corruption, nepotism, compromised bureaucracy , arrogant Ministers and Allies who undermined the PMO and this had a devastating effect on the Economy and on the Society.
All this is past now and there is a sense of rejuvenation all around. Let me now, list a few achievements of this BJP Govt since May 2014. –
- The GDP growth – 7.5% and estimated 8% 2016-17.
- Fiscal Deficit – 3.9% 2015-16 down from 4.5 in 2013-14.
- FDInvestment up by 29% (for 15 months)under Make in India along with record Forex reserves of $350 bn.
- CPI – Inflation down from 10%+ in April 2014 to 5.6% Feb 2016.
- India is the 1 Bright Spot in the Global gloomy scenario (World Bank).
- Good Governance thru –
- Transparency – Coal Auction Rs3.3lac cr, Spectrum Rs1.0lac cr.
- Decentralisation- environmental/road/railway/ports clearances now thru Regional bodies.
- Effective delivery Jan Dhan -20.4 cr bank accounts and Rs30000 crs deposit.
- Targeted Subsidy.
- Village electrification – 6156 villages completed and 18452 by March 2017.
- Mudra Loans – Rs 46000 cr and 66lacs borrowers.
- Others – Beti Padao Beti Bachao, Skill Development, Make In India, STart-UP India.
The results
- Electricity Power deficit – 3.6% Lowest ever Capacity addition 22500 MW, Solar -5500 MW.
- Coal-497 Mn tonnes Highest.
- Software exports, Port handling, Car and Mobile production all maximized.
- India has moved up 12 positions in Ease of doing business.
- The Monster Index on Employment – Jan 2016- 229 v/s 150 in 2014.
- The Farm Insurance scheme, the Soil Health Card and the National Agricultural -E platform will change Agriculture like never before.
- Defense preparedness rejuvenated and savings Rs 49300 cr in the next 5 years.
- Railways – commissioning of 1600KMs of Electrification and Doubling of Average Capex of Rs48100 (v/s last 5yrs) in 2015-16.
These and many other achievements are the effect of a “Development for All” Policy driven Govt and not based on “Jingoistic Frenzy” or Hindutva Agenda. Shame on you for whipping up a frenzy to create vote bank politics before state elections. This negative “Journalistic Propaganda” will boomerang.
Satyameva Jayate – Truth alone triumphs.
Ashish Gupta
